Baccarat table from netend's baccart game

Baccarat: the complete online guide

Baccarat is one of the most iconic casino games, also known as James Bond’s favorite card game. This game is very accessible with simple rules. You’ll be able to start playing like a professional in no time.

Baccarat over the years

Nowadays, you can play this game online, but “Baccarat” has its origins in landbased casinos. The name comes from Italian and there are many versions of its history. Its creation could even date back to the Middle Ages, when the game was mainly played with tarot cards. It appeared in France during the reign of Charles VIII from 1483 to 1498. Around the First World War, the game spread throughout the world thanks to French casinos and new variants appeared.

In the past, the game was mainly associated with the richest. At the time, you needed large sums of money to play.

The ability to play online has given millions of players easy access to this game and allows you to experience the same unique feeling as a land-based casino. Baccarat is one of the most popular card games.

Traditional Baccarat and its variations

The name “Baccarat” is often considered to cover the games Chemin De Fer, Baccarat American Style and Punto Banco. These variations are versions of Baccarat that are played with several players on a gaming table similar to Poker. Because Baccarat has many names, people often mistakenly think that it is a game with different rules. This is generally not the case. However, there are other important names and variations that are played differently. The most popular variant is Punto Banco, which you can also find in most online casinos.

In Baccarat, whoever gets closest to 9 wins. Cards have a different value than you are used to in other games. The ace counts as one and face cards and tens are worth zero points. Cards with a value of 2 to 9 are worth their own value. In Baccarat, the player and the banker receive two and sometimes three cards. This means you can easily go over 9, but tens don’t count in Baccarat. So, if you have 10 or more after adding up your cards, 10 points will be taken away.

The different variations of Baccarat

Traditional baccarat

It is useful to know that the value of the cards and the possible winnings do not differ depending on the variant, but the possibility of betting on a draw and the number of dealers required differ. Players can bet on whether the player wins (Punto) or whether the bank wins (Banco). When betting on Banco, you usually pay a small commission. With other variations it may also be possible to opt for a draw. In traditional Baccarat, it is generally not necessary to bet on this. This is why this box remains empty. Usually there are three dealers here, one who indicates how the game should be played and the others follow the bets. In Mini Baccarat you only have one dealer.

Chemin De Fer

This variation has different rules, but is very similar to traditional Baccarat and Mini Baccarat. While traditional Baccarat is also called the American variation, where players compete against each other and the casino acts as a game leader, with Chemin De Fer people play against the casino and not against other players. This is called the European variant. The cards are shuffled and the player who bids the most acts as banker. If multiple players bid the same thing, the player closest to the dealer will act as banker. It’s about finding a player ready to take a place on the bench. The person who has just failed the role of banker can bet as much as the player who plays the banker by announcing “Banco Suivi”. The alternative is to announce “Banco Seul” if no one meets this condition and you want to make the same bet as the bank.

Baccarat Banque

This variant is mainly found in physical casinos. Here the game table has two sides. The banker plays against two hands, with the players on the left representing one hand and the players on the right representing the other hand. This variant is played with three decks instead of six and here the banker does not change. The player with the highest bet remains at the bank until all playing cards have been used or he passes the round. The dealer deals three cards. One for the right players, one for the left players and one for the banker. The banker can only bet on his own hand. Players can bet on their hands or those of the banker. There is no tie in this variation. The player with the largest bet on each side is responsible for that side’s hand. When a second card is dealt in the same order as the first cards, the responsible players and the banker can control the hands. If either hand reaches a total of 8 or 9, no additional cards are dealt. This is also called a natural. Otherwise, play continues according to the rules of the third card. Baccarat Banque is the variant in which anything can happen and there are no limits on bets.

Mini Baccarat

With a single dealer, lower stakes and simpler rules, this variation is very popular. It comes down to two choices: How much do you want to bet? And are you going to bet on the banker or the player? Do you choose the bank? In this case, you should take into account that you usually pay a small commission. (around 5%) While in Baccarat Banque the bets and winnings can increase significantly, with Mini Baccarat it’s simple. The gains are always individual. You can also bet on a draw. You will get eight times your stake back if this turns out to be correct, but remember that the chances of a draw are low.

Punto Banco

The most played and popular variation with simple rules. You only have to bet once and the dealer does the rest. In Baccarat, whoever gets closest to 9 wins. The charm of this game lies in its simplicity.

How to play Baccarat online

Punto Banco is the variant that you find most often online. In many casinos, this variation is simply called “Baccarat”. Punto, Banco and Equality then become Player, Banker and Tie.

Setting up the game

You will see two boxes on the table “Punto” and “Banco”. The dealer places two or three cards in each of these boxes. You just have to guess which box will earn the most points: Punto or Banco. The team that comes closest to 9 points wins by combining the cards.

Points per card

King, queen, jack, ten: 0 points
Ace: 1 point
2 to 9: The number of points on the map

The Punto or Banco score can never be greater than 9. If there are more points in a box, the tens do not count.

The course of the game

You can bet on “Punto” and “Banco”, but also on “Equality” (a draw). The dealer does his job. He places two cards next to “Punto” and “Banco” and then counts the points. Does one (or both) have 8 or 9 points? Then the game is over. Did someone win or is it a draw?

If the number of points is lower, the dealer sometimes has to give an extra card to Punto, Banco or both. You don’t have to do anything yourself. The dealer does everything.

Third Card Rule

You do not need to know these rules, but it may happen that a third card arrives after two cards have already been received by Punto and Banco.

The dealer first checks how many points “Punto” has after two cards:

Between 0 and 5 points: Punto gets the third card, unless Banco gets 8 or 9
6 or 7 points: Punto passes
8 or 9 points: Punto passes and the game ends immediately

But of course we must also take “Banco” into account. If Punto has not received a third card, “Banco” will only receive a third card in the event of a score between 0 and 5 points.

If Punto received a third card, what about Banco?

Between 0 and 2 points: Banco obtains the third card
3 points: Banco gets the third card, unless the third Punto card is an 8
4 points: Banco gets the third card, when the third Punto card is a 2,3,4,5,6 or 7
5 points: Banco gets the third card, when the third Punto card is a 4,5,6 or 7
6 points: Banco gets the third card when the third Punto card is a 6 or a 7
Between 7 and 9 points: Banco passes

After dealing all the cards, the dealer checks the number of points and rewards the winners.

Payouts

Win on Punto: 1x your stake
Win on Banco: 1 x your stake
Exception: if Banco wins by 5 points, you win 1/2x your stake.
Win on a tie: you win 8x your stake. If during a tie you bet on Punto or Banco, then you win nothing but recover your stake.

The above exception may not apply, in which case a 5 point Banco win, simply counts as a complete win.

Game Strategies and Tips

Look at the payout percentages of the betting options. Banco has the highest payout percentage. The house edge if you bet on this is 100-99.07 = 0.93%. For example, in roulette, the house edge is 2.70%.

You could say that the easiest option is to play Banco every time. There is also the possibility of a draw. Winning 8 times your stake sounds tempting, but the odds of doing so are so low that this strategy can cause you to lose the most money.

Tips for Playing Online

Choose a reputable and legal online casino. Make sure the casino is legal in Belgium, has a valid license and offers fair playing conditions.
You now have an idea of how to play this game and you can determine a strategy based on that.

Online Baccarat offers you the opportunity to experience this game from the comfort of your home. You don’t need to learn complicated rules. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced player, Baccarat remains a popular and exciting game to explore.